


Learning How to Live

by bos10blonde



Series: Cap Five and the Roommates [3]
Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Canon-typical violence to and by zombies, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Non-Mute Runner Five, Season 1 Spoilers, She/her pronouns for Five
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:53:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29275752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bos10blonde/pseuds/bos10blonde
Summary: Runner Five settles into her new role at Abel after Voice in the Dark. Cue all the found family, one shots, and fluff you'd expect from ZR S1.This is my live run-through of ZR from my Cap's perspective (and that of her two roommates). Reactions are mostly true to my own as I experienced the missions for the first time myself.Spoilers past S1M7 through a TBD point in S2, probably. Chapters will be tagged.
Series: Cap Five and the Roommates [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2005711
Comments: 6
Kudos: 3





	1. The Golden Trio

**Author's Note:**

> During S1, between M8&M9.
> 
> Content warnings: canon-typical violence against zombies, brief description of gore, farm tools used as weapons.

**THE GOLDEN TRIO**

It was a wonderful day for a run. It was just cold enough to create puffs of breath in front of the three Abel runners as they moved along the road, but not cold enough to cut through the warmth of steady physical exertion.

Runner Five took a long inhale of crisp air as she followed a bend in the road, eyes fixed on the cluster of squat stone buildings ahead that was their destination. Five and her roommates ran in a loose _V_ , with Five in the back so she could follow the others. Cora kept up a constant tour-guide-like dialogue of the landmarks to look for around the route. Five’s attempts to memorize them were hindered by Rowan’s frequent interruptions about the many places where a zombie _could_ be lurking.

“That’s it, ladies. Runners. Runner-ladies?” Sam’s voice was clear and comfortable in their headsets as they jogged closer to the outer buildings. “The warehouse is just a few blocks ahead and east of your current position. There’s a handful of zoms on the southwest side of the village, but they shouldn’t give you any trouble where you’re at now.”

“Cool, so they’ll probably make a run for us in a second,” Five muttered. “Has nobody ever _seen_ a movie?”

Cora, who was a few paces ahead to Five’s right, looked back over her shoulder. “Got it, Sam,” she said, keying her microphone to transmit with an exaggerated motion. “Keep an eye on those for us, will you?”

“Don’t worry, Runner Nine,” Sam said reassuringly. “I’ve got a good view over the whole village from here. The tricky bit’ll be when you’re inside. And…alsowhen you go check out that farm further out. Although that’s pretty expected, I suppose. We wouldn’t need scouting missions if we had camera coverage out there. Although if we can get the tech from the New Canton headsets working—”

“We’ll be fine, Sam,” Rowan interrupted with an audible eye roll from her place a full block ahead of the others. “We’ve got a real dream team out here now. This is gonna be _cake._ ”

“We should have a nickname or catchphrase or something,” Cora suggested as they turned north into the main road, becoming crowded in by abandoned houses. “Like, ‘this mission brought to you by Room 42.’”

“‘The Roommates?’” Rowan suggested.

Five scrunched up her nose. “That’s not a cool name. That’s just a statement of fact.”

“The Three Musketeers?” Cora tried.

“Is Sam D’Artagnan, then?” Five wondered, brandishing an imaginary sword at a passing lamppost. She’d forgotten to open her comms channel, but Sam seemed to pick up the gesture from the cameras.

“Swords are cool and all, but I would have said you three were the Powerpuff Girls,” he volunteered. “Like that old cartoon. Runner Twenty-Two is Buttercup, obviously.”

Cora and Five laughed, but Rowan quirked her head thoughtfully before she spoke. “And Nine is Blossom – you’re _totally_ the mom friend, Cor.”

Cora looked so proud that Five giggled harder. “So that makes me _Bubbles_!!” she chirped, finally remembering how her mic worked and flipping the switch. “I mean, you know what they say about blondes…” That set everyone off laughing again as the group spread out to maneuver around a pothole.

“See? I know how to call ‘em,” Sam said proudly.

“Yeah,” Five agreed. “I’d’ve gone for the Andrews Sisters, but Powerpuff Girls is much better.”

“ _And_ from this century,” Rowan sniped. “I don’t know who they are, but since it’s you, I’m guessing they’re _way_ old. How do you even know so much old stuff?”

“They’re not old, they’re _vintage_!” Five protested.

“Yeah, well, watch yourself calling the middle sister ‘old,’ Ro,” Cora mock-grumbled.

Rowan stuck her tongue out at the tallest roommate. “Anyway,” she continued, hopping over a fallen lamppost. “Superpowered toddlers are fine, but what about something more badass? Like Charlie’s Angels.”

“Oooh, but instead of ‘Charlie,’ it’s ‘Sammy’?” Five said, catching on. The trio exchanged a look.

“Good morning, Sammy!” they crooned in unison.

Sam spluttered over the comms. “I—you don’t need to…I mean. Hm. That’s quite nice, actually.”

Five giggled. “I can hear him blushing from here,” she said in a stage whisper.

Cora quirked a knowing eyebrow at this, but Rowan was still musing on the idea. “Well, technically, Ms. De Luca’s the boss, right? So it’d be ‘Janine’s Angels.’”

“Eh, I don’t know…” Cora teased. “Janine wouldn’t get all flustered if we chorused at her, so that’s no fun.”

“I can still hear you, you know,” Sam pouted. “You know, I never thought there’d be a day _I_ couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Which wouldn’t be too great for you three, considering I can see the group of, oh, four zoms in the next street to your right. Best hug the left side, the chippy with the windows smashed out.”

The roommates quieted, shifting to run single file while avoiding fallen glass and noisy debris. Five swiveled her head as they passed the alley for a better look. There was indeed a small group of shamblers far down the street, bouncing off dumpsters and brick walls. A couple of them were facing the main road, but the runners passed before they could get a line of bearing.

Five almost felt relieved; things were going suspiciously well, but at least they knew exactly where the danger was. They couldn’t have expected to avoid _all_ the zombies, after all.

Scattered moans faded into quiet as the trio finally reached the sprawling hardware store in the north of town, metal siding gleaming dully in the afternoon sun. The runners drew to a stop in front of the large glass doors, scanning the area for movement.

“Alright,” Sam said. “I’ve got a clear view of the surrounding area, and I’m not seeing any activity. But once you get inside, I’m not going to be able to see you.”

Five had walked straight up to the doors, shielding her eyes from the glare with one hand to peer inside cautiously.

“Uh, guys? It looks like it’s chained shut from the inside.” 

Rowan picked up a loose brick from the half-wall that once marked the store’s perimeter. “A glass door is never a door for long,” she said, tossing the brick a few times in one hand.

“Yeah, and you’ll draw every zombie in the area to our position!” Cora scoffed.

“It’s a nice idea, Runner Twenty-Two,” Sam cut in. “But let’s try a loop of the building first, see if we can avoid attracting those zoms from the alley. Actually, Runner Twenty-Two, if you run ‘round the left side of the building, and Runner Five, you go around the right? There’s supposed to be a loading dock on one side, but I haven’t got the best angle.”

Five nodded, forgetting that Sam wouldn’t be able to hear. She set off at a cautious jog around the building, hearing heartbeat grow louder as she entered the shadows cast by the warehouse. All Five could hear was the scuffing of her sneakers on crumbling asphalt and the creaking of an unseen iron gate in the distance. She held her breath for a moment in an attempt to hear better but found that only threw off her rhythm.

If there was a loading dock, it wasn’t on this side. Sure enough, Five made almost a full circle around the building to find Rowan standing triumphantly beside a red metal door beside a massive metal gate. Having gained an audience, Rowan reached forward to slowly turn the handle, pushing forward gently. Five tensed, waiting for figures to lunge out of the entrance.

“Found anything?” Sam asked.

“I think I’ve found a side entrance,” Rowan answered. “Seems quiet inside. ‘Round to your left, Nine,” she added.

“Got it,” Cora answered, the hitch in her voice indicating she was already on her way.

Once the group had rejoined, Rowan pushed the door fully open and strode in confidently. Five entered much more cautiously, moving along the wall to the left and craning to see as much of the interior as she could before stepping forward. By the time Cora had entered, Five felt reasonably secure there was no immediate danger.

Cora tried the light switch by the door, but there was no response beyond the click echoing off the polished concrete floor. “No power,” she said aloud. “Guess it was too much to hope for that this place would be on generators.”

“They might have them here, though,” Five said. “This place is _huge_!”

The women had entered via the gardening section, and the dusty scent of drying potting soil hung in the air. Ahead of them were a dozen rows of iron-bar shelving stacked to the ceiling with lumber, paint, and more types of metal fixtures than Five had ever imagined. Five grabbed a lawn ornament from one of the displays as they moved forward to the main corridor, holding the pointed end ahead, ready to lift like an unbalanced rapier.

“Alright, I’m not picking up any movement outside,” Sam said over the headsets. “All quiet in there? Without electricity, I won’t be able to get into the security cameras. Man, I wish I could see what you were seeing…”

“Look fine, Sam,” Cora answered. “Five, you’ve got the list of equipment, right?”

Five nodded, swinging her backpack around to her front to rummage through the contents. The group had exited Garden Decor and passed through Electrical Fixtures on their way to Gates and Fencing. Enough light streamed through the high windows that they felt reasonably safe there weren’t any zombies lurking in the visible aisles.

“You’re mostly looking for things to repair the farming equipment today,” Sam added helpfully. “Janine prioritized the list – she says to sacrifice quality over quantity if you have to. Some of the things might be pretty bulky.”

“Yeah, we’ll probably want to send out a convoy at some point,” Cora said. “This place hasn’t been touched – I think there are even some ride-on lawnmowers over there.”

“God, how awesome would it be to take out some zoms with one of those things?” Rowan crowed, grabbing a crowbar from one of the shelves. “Just – lay on the pedal and ride right over ‘em, take ‘em all out. Or a weed whacker, or—”

“Alright, Twenty-Two, back away from the power tools,” Sam admonished. “If this place is clear, we need to leave Runner Five to shopping while you and Nine go scout out the farm.”

Rowan made a face at the empty air and set down the gas-powered chainsaw she’d picked up. “’S too heavy for sprinting, anyway,” she grumbled.

“It’s kind of sad nobody’s been here yet,” Five said, not paying attention to Rowan’s attempt to weaponize. “Like, no one’s been in one place long enough to _need_ repairs, let alone be able to build anything new.”

Cora blinked at her smallest roommate. “Well, with that cheery thought, we really do need to get going. Do you have what you need?”

Five nodded, trying to look confident and not at all nervous. “I have no idea what any of this stuff is for, but the list has little sketches for most things. I should be able to muddle through.”

Five could practically hear Sam beaming smugly as he spoke in their ears again. “Well, we try to make sure our runners are prepared. Less confusion means faster missions, after all.”

“See? You’ll be fine, Five!” Rowan chuckled, nudging Five with her elbow. “Nothing’s jumped out at you yet. C’mon, Nine, we’re losing daylight.” With a wave over their shoulders, Five’s roommates diverted to grab some hand axes before turning back the way they had come, slipping into an easy jog.

Without the comfortable chatter, the warehouse was disconcertingly empty. Five could hear the rubber soles of her running shoes squeak slightly on the polished floor, and Sam had clearly switched the others to their own channel to give them directions. Five felt a tightening at the top of her gut; she really didn’t like not knowing what was going on out there, knowing she wouldn’t know if her friends had run into trouble until it was too late. She busied herself with scrutinizing the handwritten list of items, trying to guess where they might be stored, and reminded herself to trust Sam and the others’ experience.

“Nails, drill bits, okay, easy enough…digging _bar_? That just looks like a metal pole…The hell is a _ratchet_?” Five muttered to herself as she stuck her arm through a loop of heavy-duty hose as much to calm her nerves as anything else. 

The next half-hour passed quickly in a blur of peering around shelving units and squinting at abbreviated labels. Five quickly filled her backpack with everything from pliers, WD-40—even a solar-powered battery charger she suspected was going to the sleeper hit of her haul. She’d already filled half a handcart with lengths of rebar and spools of chicken wire when she reached the back corner of the warehouse and found a section labeled “Emergency Supplies.” Five keyed her mic once to indicate to Sam he should check in when he had a chance and started scooping freeze-dried food pouches onto the cart.

She had a package of emergency ponchos in her teeth by the time Sam came in.

“Everything alright, Runner Five?” he asked. “The other two are just about at the farm. It’s been clear so far, and the fences look intact, but we may not have too long.”

“Sorry, no, I’m fine—I’ll be quick,” Five replied through gritted teeth. “There’s a whole section of prepper supplies here. We’re definitely going to want to send a team as soon as possible before anyone catches on. There’s food and everything—”

“Oh, have they got any Marmite?” Sam asked eagerly.

“Any—what? No, why would that be in the—”

Five was interrupted by a loud _thunk_ of flesh against metal and a sudden gurgling groan. Five jumped violently, searching for the source of the sound—

There. She hadn’t noticed the “Employees Only” door along the back wall— _stupid, stupid!—_ and now it was pushing slowly outward, a zombie in a tattered green apron falling forward with it.

Five kicked the hand cart towards the door with a squeak of a cut-off scream. The cart caught the zombie below the knees and if fell forward onto the cart, flailing. Five backed away slowly, looking around wildly for a weapon but finding only displays of hand-cranked radios and water purification tablets.

“Runner Five? What’s going on?!” Sam sounded alarmed, but she didn’t have time to reassure him.

The zombie lunged for Five with a snarl, knocked the cart onto its side in its mindless attempt to get to its feet. There was a tremendous _PING!_ ing crash as lengths of rebar tumbled to the ground.

One metal rod rolled towards Five and she dove for it, knees crashing into cold concrete as she scrabbled for the weapon.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one reaching forward.

The zombie’s hand clamped around Five’s wrist just as she got a grip on the banded iron. Instinctively, Five yanked herself back as hard as she could, tearing herself from the grip of interrupted rigor mortis. She used her momentum to rise up on her knees and sweep the rebar up over one shoulder, perpendicular to the floor.

Hesitating a moment to track the thrashing, Five brought the metal rod down and through the zombie’s head like kebab meat on a skewer. She could feel the successive jolts through her elbows as she drove straight through bone and brain and bone again until the metal slammed into the ground.

With a few spastic jerks and a choking noise, the zombie fell still. Five rose to her feet and yanked the rebar from the former zombie’s skull, every nerve sparking with adrenaline and hypervigilance.

It was almost a letdown when the only sound that met her ears was Sam’s continued radio calls. She’d tuned him out for…however long that scuffle had taken.

“Runner Five, I swear to God, if you can hear me—”

“I’m here, Sam,” she answered quickly, fumbling at the microphone switch. “Ran into an ex-employee, that’s all. You know how aggressive salespeople can be.”

“You—! You just gave me half a heart attack, and you’re _making wisecracks?”_ Sam said, aghast.

Five grinned as if it could still her trembling hands gripping the gore-slicked weapon. “Sorry, Sam. I think it’s clear again for now.”

“Well, make sure to keep an eye out—oh, no, Nine, you want to watch for irrigation trenches around the field—oh wait, wrong channel, hang on—” with a soft click, Sam switched channels, and Five was alone again. She felt a twinge of embarrassment at the obvious vigilance for ditches after her disastrous tumble a couple weeks back.

Getting back on task, Five righted the cart and cautiously circled back around the store to the side entrance, replacing the rebar with increasingly better weapons as she found them. She quickly found that a digging bar made for a pretty good quarterstaff, although too heavy to carry around for too long.

A few minutes later, Five emerged from the side of the warehouse and pulled the cart out behind her and maneuvering it to barricade the door shut behind her. She blinked in the sunlight and waved in the direction she thought there might be a camera, keying her mic again.

Five waited for a minute that stretched into two, then three.

Sam still hadn’t come in over the comms.

Five clutched the digging bar closer to her chest and picked her way along the outside of the warehouse, eyes fixed on the main road. Straining her ears, she could swear she heard a rumble of inhuman voices from the direction they’d come, but she was probably just being twitchy.

Five had made it to the main road, moving slowly so as not to jangle her metal-filled bag, when Sam’s voice barreled through her headset again. His tone was urgent, practically running into itself as the words rushed forth.

“—switch you over to the group channel so Runner Five can hear, too. Keep running straight on, Nine. Twenty-Two, you’ve picked up another three zoms – that’s six behind you now. If you can dodge around the shed up ahead, you might be able to slow them down a bit – yeah, that’s good. A nice burst of speed now…head left, and you’ll see Runner Nine before long.”

It was as if Five had stepped on an electric current. Behind Sam’s rapid-fire directions she could hear Cora and Rowan’s noises of acknowledgment, along with the sounds of sprinting steps and uncomfortably-close zombie groans. Five turned right out of the warehouse yard without thinking and started running the way she knew the others had gone.

Five heard Sam take in a short, stressed breath before he spoke again. “Runner Five, can you hear me?”

“I copy, Sam,” Five replied, veering away from an alleyway she realized she hadn’t checked.

“As you may have guessed, that farm was inhabited by some pretty nasty neighbors. It looks like the whole family took shelter in the cellar, only…yeah. Runner Twenty-Two’s drawn them off for now, but there’s another pack approaching from west of the village. They’ll be coming back down the main road in just a moment, so you can retrace your steps, so just stay where you—oh, you’re already running.”

“I don’t think we should take the main road, Sam,” Five said, turning to glance over her shoulder. “Remember those groups in the southwest and the alley on our way in? Those were all on the west side of town, too. I thought I heard something…”

Five could hear movement on Sam’s end as he clicked through camera feeds on the limited screens in the comm shack. He cursed softly. “You’re right. It’s a regular West Side Story out there. Good catch, Runner Five.”

Five didn’t have time to feel proud at the praise.

“So what do you want me to do, Sam?” Cora called into the channel. “I’m already in sight of the village!”

“Ah, right. New plan!” Sam answered. “Runner Twenty-Two, follow the edge of town to your left when you reach it. Runner Five, keep heading north, then sharp right when you hit the edge of the buildings. Runner Nine – you’re heading the right direction, just two zoms left to shake.”

Five leaned forward and opened her stride, picking up speed as she burst out of the village’s northernmost border between two severe-looking school buildings. Up ahead, a flash of yellow caught her eye – there was Cora, heading straight towards her.

Five ran hard until she was a few paces ahead of her roommate, at which point the pair wheeled east in unison.

“Runner Twenty-Two, you should be able to see the others to your right now. Go ahead and work your way towards them. Everyone _keep running_ ; those stragglers are looking pretty persistent.”

Rowan crossed the field at a diagonal with her usual speed, reaching Cora and Five with a suspiciously excited grin.

“You heard the man,” Rowan egged them on. “Time to run!”

Five wished she’d put some sort of padding into her pack as the tools jostled loudly. The three ran together, hugging the path along the village’s eastern perimeter, heightened breathing and the striking of sneakers on cobblestone the only dialogue between them.

As the immediate tension began to ebb, Five’s thoughts wandered to how it would have been a pretty walking path once. The view of quaint English stonework on one side and rolling fields on the other was just the kind of thing she’d pictured for her British vacation. Before the world went grey, that is.

As if in response, there was a crash about twenty yards ahead, and the clatter of wood planks thrown to the ground. A set of splintered cellar doors burst open to their right, and two grey faces loomed out of the darkness.

“Oh, no!” Sam groaned. “I thought this place was supposed to be cleared out! Get over to your left— _watch out_!”

There wasn’t time to think or plan as the shamblers lunged toward the roommates. Five held the bar she’d managed to hold onto and jerked her head toward the nearest alley, ahead and to the right. Rowan and Cora tracked her gesture, eyebrows shooting up.

“Ro, think you can fetch them and bring them back? Like a yo-yo?” Five yelled, the need for quiet long past.

Rowan nodded once, and Five’s set her jaw into a grimace of determination. The shamblers had emerged from the cellar and swiveled to gape at the oncoming runners. Sam tried to say something, but there wasn’t time.

“Nine, go wide!” Five yelled. “Punch it, ‘Twos! _Now!_ ”

Without breaking stride, Cora peeled off to the left. Five lunged forward to grabbed the top handle of Rowan’s backpack just as the latter slipped her arms out of the straps. Rowan shot straight ahead, leaning into a sprint, heading straight for the pair of zoms. Five threw the strap of Rowan’s bag over one shoulder and used the momentum of the swinging weight to lean into a right turn, diving along a side alley of the tiny cathedral.

Five skidded to a halt, turning to press her back against a wall and squint into the sunlight. She could see Cora circling wide into the field, intently tracking something ahead. Five could imagine Rowan reaching the shamblers and running a tight circle around them, twisting her torso just a few inches out of reach of clawing hands, drawing their attention to lead them towards Five’s position.

Cora gave a distant shout, and there was a blur of maroon-tipped hair and freckled limbs as Rowan whipped past the alley’s entrance. The steel had gone hot in Five’s hands, and she held every muscle tense for an agonizingly long moment.

Two formerly-human figures staggered across the gap, snarling and gnashing half-destroyed jaws.

Five lunged out of the alley behind them, weapon aloft. She swung as hard as she could at the slower of the two zombies, catching it at the base of the skull with enough force that it crumpled into a twitching heap.

Five kept running, landing a hard kick on the fallen zom’s face for good measure. This threw her slightly off stride, so when Five’s attack on the zombie on Rowan’s tail was less elegant than before.

Still, it only took one goo swing behind the knees to stagger the zom, and Five was able to bring the bar down on the top of its head. For the third time that day, Five felt the reverberation of bone on metal as the monster dropped like a gargling stone.

Five leaped over the body and put on a burst of speed, gaining a few yards’ distance before daring to peek over her shoulder. There was nothing following, as far as she could see.

Sam whooped over the headset, causing Five’s racing heart to skip a beat in trepidation.

“Are the more?” she asked. “Sam, where are they?”

“No—no, you’re all clear now, sorry. That was just _so cool!_ ”

“What?” Rowan asked, circling back around to meet the rather blood-spattered Five. “I was up ahead, I couldn’t see!”

Cora’s voice sounded from Five’s left as she rejoined. “Five only just took out both of those zoms with a bit of metal!” she exclaimed. “Where did _that_ come from?”

Five could still hear the blood rushing in her ears as the three ran wide around the village.

“It was just adrenaline, really,” she muttered. “A fluke.”

As much as she wanted to break out into victorious cheers, Five felt oddly like she’d swallowed a bag of ice. She didn’t know where it had come from, either. Or if she’d be able to do it again.

“Amazing job, runners, fantastic! That was absolutely _incredible,_ Five!” Sam broke in, sounding relieved but eager to bring the mission to a close. “Barring any more surprises, you’ll all take the long way around the east of the village. I’ll vector you back to your original route. Let’s get you all home.”

Luckily, the rest of the way back was uneventful. The roommates ran in tight formation along familiar pathways, threading their way towards the red light of the radio tower and chatting in a companionship borne from a shared mission.


	2. It Belongs in a Rec Room!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Runner Five attends her first movie night at Abel and is started to get acquainted with the locals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day - have some silly fluff I wrote ages ago! Runner's piles are HARD to write, y'all.
> 
> Content warnings: not much - just brief mention of canon-typical zombies. 
> 
> Takes place in S1.

Five hummed a series of film themes as she slid chunks of baked potato around a skillet. For just a moment, she was so caught up in hitting the soaring notes and the progress of the snacks sizzling in the pan, that Five was able to forget the world beyond the cramped cafeteria. Outside, the zombie apocalypse was still in full swing, and there was surely an unknown horde approaching from the distance, waiting to stumble across the happy little township. But inside Abel’s walls, some friends were planning to meet for a movie night.

One that started pretty soon, actually; she’d better get moving. Five squinted at the twice-fried potatoes, catching a small morsel on the spatula for a taste test. Considering, she turned to reach over her head to the spice shelf, ignoring the plaintive pull of tired muscles. Five had just gotten back from a supply run – a successful hour and a half round trip that netted a book on animal husbandry and few sports bras – before she’d had to rush to the kitchen to help serve dinner. Maybe she shouldn’t sign up for quite so many job slots around the township, she mused as she tapped paprika over the food and turned off the burner. Now when she actually had _fun_ plans for once.

A few days ago, Eugene had invited Five to join a movie night in the runner’s rec room. Apparently, this was a semi-regular occurrence when electricity supplies were doing well, but this happened to be the first time one since Five arrived, and everyone was sorely in need of a casual night in. 

As she transferred chunks of potato from the frying pan to a plate, Five chuckled slightly at her rapid friendship with Eugene. She’d initially mistaken his accent for a US one like hers and had latched onto him in conversation with the enthusiasm of a years-long expat right there in the cafeteria line. She’d thrown out more than a few obscure references before discovering he was actually from the Great White North, to Five’s minor embarrassment. Still, they both had enough common music interests for comfortable cafeteria conversation, and Five much preferred talking to someone she recognized than trying to break into yet another group of people.

In fact, beyond her roommates and Sam, Eugene was probably Five’s first proper friend at Abel. Even the other runners seemed like unknowns, since she always seemed to be assigned solo runs or paired up with Runner Eight. And Five still didn’t trust Sara Smith, given the older woman’s propensity to shoot over Five’s shoulder and question her motives. _Methinks the lady doth protest too much,_ Five thought idly as she headed back towards the runners’ dorms.

After changing into clothes that smelled less of kitchen grease, Five headed for the rec room. She casually placed the plate of twice-fried potatoes in the center of the cluttered coffee table on her way in, looking around for the best place to settle for the movie. Rowan was already there, sprawled sideways across the half-broken recliner that was the lone solo seat in the room, contemplating a half-filled page of her notebook. Some of the other runners were also hanging around the common area. Five recognized the young woman sitting on a cushion under the floor lamp, knitting away at something aggressively pastel-colored. She looked up and greeted Five cheerfully, twin braids sliding back over her shoulders as she did.

“Hey there, Runner Five! Come to join us for movie night?”

“Yeah—Hi, Jody,” Five replied, feeling intense relief as she caught sight of the number 4 stenciled on Jody’s sleeve. Five was so terrible with names that she’d had Cora run her through runner names and numbers the previous night like a vocabulary quiz, even though she saw the same half dozen people at every meal in the cafeteria.

“Oh, good, you found us— _and_ you brought food?” came Eugene’s jovial voice from the doorway. “Like you’re not becoming enough of a celebrity around here, Five!”

Five turned to smile at Eugene, nodding to Jack who was, of course, following close behind. “You’re the celebrity here, radio man,” she answered with measured nonchalance. “And it’s nothing, really, there were just some leftover baked potatoes from dinner. People are getting sick of them, I guess—since they were already marked as expended rations, it was easy to snag them so they didn’t go to waste.”

Rowan had perked up at the mention of food and already swiped one of the potatoes from the tray by the time Five finished speaking. She gave Five a suitably impressed thumbs-up as she reclaimed her reclining chair, earning a satisfied smile from her roommate. “You and your rations,” she teased. “Just say you swiped ‘em, it’d make you sound cooler.”

“Hey, Twenty-Two,” Jack shot good-naturedly at Rowan as he grabbed a chunk for himself. “I see you’ve claimed the Games Master chair again, as usual.”

“If it’s not game night, it’s not a Games Master chair,” Rowan sniffed, earning an eye-rolling smile from most other people in the room.

Jody had also drifted over to investigate the rumor of food, and the growing group chatted comfortably, milling about the coffee table. The rec room was about the size of Five’s pre-apocalypse apartment living room and crammed with twice as much stuff. Five moved out of Jody’s way, taking the chance to snag the seat in the center corner of the vast L-shaped couch that took up most of the small room. Before long, Jody claimed the couch’s arm perpendicular to the television, leaning against the arm to stretch out her long legs towards Five. Five took note and pulled her legs up into a brief butterfly stretch before tucking her legs up to her left side. She could already feel stiffness and fatigue creeping in, but that was a problem for her future self.

Before long, Cora arrived under the arm of her girlfriend, shooting Five a brilliant smile from the doorway. Sam was following behind, holding a DVD case of _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade_ aloft to a chorus of enthusiastic greetings. Sam went to set up the movie while everyone else moved to claim their favorite viewing spots. Jack and Eugene claimed the opposite arm of the couch from Jody, leaning into one another to leave open space directly across from the TV, while Cora and her girlfriend dragged some pillows to the foot of the couch and tangled themselves together. Once the screen thrummed into life, Sam claimed the empty spot, busily pressing buttons on the several remotes scattered across the coffee table. Five shifted slightly to her left to give him a bit more room; the couch wasn’t all that big. A few other runners drifted in, starting their own piles in view of the screen. Five observed this with intrigued surprised – she’d never people fall into platonic piles to watch a movie before. It was a strangely comforting sight. 

Once the movie started, the rec room settled into a pleasant hum of running commentary, as everyone had clearly seen the movie before. Occasionally someone—mostly Rowan, at first—would mimic a particularly American-sounding phrase in Five’s direction to a low chorus of snickers. Five found herself smiling at the screen, soaking in the joy of friendly banter and a moment of rest. It was nice to feel normal, just for a while. Five settled further into the pillow behind her, reveling in the chance to take a break, and watched the movie.

* * *

Around the time Professor Jones dove out of his office window, Simon came bursting into the rec room. He stood directly in front of the screen for a few moments to a chorus of half-hearted protests as he exaggeratedly searched for a spot to sit. He spotted Jody taking up two couch cushions and moved toward her, high-stepping over a protesting Cora to get there.

“So nice of you to save me a spot, Jody!” he crowed.

“Get your own spot!” Jody complained. “ ‘S not my fault you showed up late!”

Simon ignored her, taking both her ankles in one large hand and lifting them aside, plopping down on the couch cushion directly to Five’s left. Five jostled into Sam by the movement, despite her best efforts, and leaned quickly away with a mutter of apology. Simon dropped Jody’s legs onto his lap with a smirk, and although Jody pretended to scowl at him, she didn’t move away.

“What? I could have just sat _on_ you, you know,” Simon defended himself.

“You wouldn’t, you big oaf!” Jody retorted plaintively. “Look at you, you’re not giving Five any room—this couch is too small for all of us!”

“Aw, Five doesn’t mind, do you, Five?” Simon looked at Five an expression that was such an unexpected mix of cockiness and genuine questioning that Five just shook her head—no, she didn’t mind his proximity at all, as it turns out.

Now Five was shoulder to shoulder with both Sam and Simon. She tried to curl up a little tighter and press a little farther back to make herself as small as possible, but neither of the men really seemed to notice. Simon had busied himself polishing off the snacks in the middle of the table, practically leaning across Five anyway, and Sam’s attention was fixed straight ahead at the screen. Five realized she hadn’t been around this much casual physical contact in…a long time, definitely since before Z-day. She was starting to realize this was the norm around Abel.

Simon interrupted her drifting thoughts by offering Five one of the last chunks of potato, and she took it gratefully, shifting backward more to make a little elbow room around herself. Five was only vaguely constantly aware of how close the orange sweatshirt-clad shoulder was to her right as she tugged her focus back to the movie on the screen ahead of her.

By the time Indy and his estranged father were zooming about on motorbikes, the rec room had gotten much quieter. Five stifled a yawn and looked around to see that almost every other runner had fallen asleep in small, cuddled piles of well-traveled legs and scratched-up arms. Rowan was lounging sideways across the recliner, scribbling in her notebook by the inconsistent light of the screen and no longer pretending to be paying attention. As Five looked up, Jody drifted out at some point with a wide yawn.

Simon immediately spread out to take up the space she’d initially occupied, turning to recline looking at the screen. With a quick glance of askance, seized upon Five’s legs, still folded to her left, as a suitable pillow to prop his head up. Five squirmed slightly, trying to find the most comfortable position without jostling him. Five stifled another yawn and pulled her gaze away from Simon, focusing deliberately on the TV again. Her eyes felt dry, her eyelids stubbornly heavy as lead, but Five was determined to stay awake.

“You can always just push him off,” Sam observed suddenly from Five’s right shoulder. He’d been chatting sporadically with Jack and Eugene throughout the movie, and the three of them seemed the only ones still fully alert besides Five. “Once Simon’s asleep, he won’t notice.”

Five resisted the urge to arch an eyebrow and ask Sam how he knew. “He doesn’t talk in his sleep, does he? We’re not going to find out he’s secretly a Nazi zombie?” she whispered instead, referencing one of Sean Connery’s lines from the film. Sam’s face positively lit up. An answering smile leaped to Five’s face without her bidding.

“Did you know that line was improvised? Totally on the spot! I mean, what else would you expect from James Bond, I mean, really…” Sam chattered on, and Eugene joined in as Jack pretended to roll his eyes in Five’s direction. As the scene went on, conversations began to drift in and out again along with Five’s focus. She hadn’t felt so at peace for a while now. And it had been such a long day…

* * *

Five wasn’t exactly sure when she had stopped paying attention. All she knew was she was suddenly blinking at the sight of Indy trying to outrun a tank on horseback through a desert with a distinct feeling of disorientation. She looked around, a little embarrassed, but her nap had not gone unnoticed. Jack had caught Five’s eye from his and Eugene’s end of the couch and grinned at her victoriously. She noticed suddenly the cushion to her right was empty.

“Guess you’re officially a runner now,” Jack crowed. Five pulled a face of utter confusion.

“There’re two universal rules about runners,” Eugene explained while Jack nodded sagely along. “The first is they’re all insane adrenaline junkies. Like, they’d jump off a cliff without anyone even daring them to, if they can justify it as getting away from a zom—”

“And the second,” Jack interrupted impatiently, “Is you sit a runner down somewhere comfortable for more than half an hour, and they’re out like a light.”

Five wanted to protest, but the evidence was stacked against her. She felt a tinge of irritation at the fatigue that had become her constant companion, but there was also a low sense of pride at being called "a runner." She’d worked herself up to longer runs than she’d expected of herself in just a few months, which seemed to be some sort of progress. So in lieu of a response, Five just shrugged sheepishly.

Jack and Eugene had barely finished the explanation before Sam returned with a small bundle of blankets under his arm. He tossed one at Eugene and Jack, who pulled the knitted red fabric over themselves and resettled closer to one another.

Sam seemed surprised to see Five looking up at him. “Sorry, Five, didn’t mean to wake you. I was just fetching a few blankets—do you want one? I grabbed a spare. I thought you might be cold, since you were all curled up…” he trailed off and tilted the stack towards Five, a hopeful expression on his face.

Five realized it had indeed gotten cooler in the room as night fell, although her face certainly felt warm. She smiled shyly and took the top blanket from the pile, a blue fleece thing that was clearly well-worn. “Thanks, Sam,” she said, her voice coming out a little higher than she expected. Five cleared her throat a little, to clear the sleep from it.

Five leaned forward slightly to tuck the blanket around herself, covering the portion of her still-folded legs not occupied by Simon’s head before slipping her arms underneath and tucking the material close under her chin. Once she settled, she noticed Sam was still looking at her. He blinked a few times, an expression on his face Five couldn’t identify before he caught Five’s eye and sat back down.

“What?” Five asked defensively, suddenly worried whether it was weird to cocoon oneself in blankets in public.

“No, it’s—nothing,” Sam responded quickly. “Just, that was—weirdly cute, you know, from someone I watched smash a zom’s head in earlier today.” Eugene snorted suddenly at the same moment Simon piped up from the vicinity of Five’s feet.

“Yes, positively _adorable_ ,” he complained crankily. “Now, d’you mind staying still? ‘M trying to get my beauty sleep here.”

Five sarcastically patted the top of Simon’s surprisingly soft toffee-colored curls in apology before rolling her eyes at a snickering Jack, and Eugene. Comfortably warm now, Five indulged herself in leaning her head back against the couch, less concerned with appearing alert at this point now that the not-sleeping ship had sailed. She really was cozy, even if the phrase _weirdly cute_ was echoing loudly through her brain…

* * *

The triumphant trumpets of John Williams’ score filtered into Five’s consciousness, and she roused just in time to see Indiana Jones literally riding off into the sunset. With an internal groan, she realized she must have fallen asleep again. Five raised her head from where it was leaned against Sam’s shoulder to see if anyone else was up, noticing it had gotten a lot darker—

_She raised her head from where it was leaned against Sam’s shoulder._

Five practically heard the blood rush to her face and had to stop herself from bolting upright and whacking Sam under the chin.

_Oh, God, they’re all going to think I’m so rude. We barely know each other, oh, no, he’s going to think I’m totally weird—_

“Oh, Five, you’re up!” came Sam’s decidedly unoffended voice. “I swear, I didn’t move a muscle this time. I guess you’re a pretty light sleeper, eh?”

Five slowly straightened, praying his joviality meant Sam hadn’t noticed her leaning against him after all. Maybe she’d woken up just as she’d leaned over, and it hadn’t been long…

Against all instinct to be nonchalant, Five couldn’t help but glance sideways at Sam to gauge his reaction. He grinned at her—or was he smirking at her? Had she already made a fool of herself?

“Sorry,” Five mumbled, against her better judgment. “If I was in your space—for falling asleep, I didn’t mean to, I just…”

Five trailed off. Sam looked both immensely pleased and uncertain, although that really didn’t make much sense.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You weren’t—I mean, if you wanted to—I mean…anytime.”

Mercifully, a sharp elbowing movement between Jack and Eugene caught Five’s eye and the terribly awkward moment was broken.

“Well,” Five said with mock cheerfulness, before realizing she was surrounded by sleeping figures and probably being much too loud. “Do you guys usually just do the one movie, or…?”

“Yeah,” Eugene answered, throwing Five a lifeline. “All the runners are usually asleep by now, so there’s not much point in wasting power on a marathon most nights.”

Five nodded, realizing how uncomfortable sitting in one position for nearly two hours had actually been. She reached behind her for a throw pillow and, imitating a certain archaeologist, carefully slid it under Simon’s head as she pulled her legs away to free herself from the weight. She tried to stand up, but her legs had stiffened up completely and refused to extend properly. Overbalancing, she threw one arm out to her right to feel Sam grip her wrist and steady her.

“Alright there, Five?” he asked, with a note of concern.

If Five hadn’t been blushing before, she was sure she was now. “I’m fine! Just…didn’t stretch enough I guess,” she answered with a breezy laugh, straightening up quickly. “Sorry.”

Sam just flashed Five a reassuring smile and released her arm to go fiddle with the DVD setup. Five stood and stretched, determinedly not meeting the pointed gazes of Jack or Eugene and trying not to notice the residual warmth at her wrist. At least none of the other runners were awake to witness her fail at standing. Five busied herself folding the blankets, hoping to delay enough for the moment to pass. Eventually, three yawns in quick succession forced her hand.

“Well…I should probably head to bed,” Five said reluctantly, worried they’d think her eager to leave when that couldn’t be further from the truth. “I guess I’m more tired than I thought. Thanks for the invite, Eugene.”

Eugene just waved Five off dismissively. “Invitation’s automatic from now on. I’m sure lots of people were glad to have you here…”

Five laughed nervously and carefully picked her way through the runners draped at the ends of the couch. She hesitated at the door, clutching at the blue blanket.

“Um…Sam?” she ventured. “Where do I put this? You can just give me directions, I’ll find it—”

Sam stood up quickly, snapping shut the DVD case louder than probably necessary. “I can show you! Really, it’s no trouble. It’s just the next building over, the laundry storage…”

Before Five could protest, Sam swept past, leading her out of the room. She glanced back into the rec room at both of her sleeping roommates before hurrying after Sam to avoid losing him.

Sam’s enthusiastic chatter faded as the pair departed, leaving Jack and Eugene the last two left awake in the rec room. Once the credits finished, Eugene grabbed the remote from the table to switch off the television. He nudged Jack gently with an elbow and tilted his head in the direction Five and Sam had left.

“So, Simon or Sam?” Eugene asked with a grin.

Jack looked confused for a moment. “What, and Runner Five?” he responded eventually, a bit bewildered. He glanced pointedly at Simon, dead asleep and snoring slightly, sprawled across the couch.

“You can’t tell me there aren’t, you know, _vibes_ going on there,” Eugene whispered.

“’ _Vibes_ ’?” Jack mouthed back in gentle mocking. Still, he made a show of pondering deeply as stretched widely. “I mean. Five’s never said anything about her life before, so how do you know she’d even be interested? Still, I wouldn’t put it past Simon to make a move.”

Eugene stifled a laugh as he got up, dropping the blanket he and Eugene had been using on top of an uncovered heap of runners on the floor. “Simon makes a move on _everybody_ ,” he said, keeping his voice low as he and Jack headed out of the rec room. “That doesn’t count.”

“Exactly,” Jack said smugly. “Foolproof logic.” Eugene flipped the light switch, leaving the half dozen dozing runners in darkness. “Besides, can you imagine Sam's stammering at a confession?” The pair dissolved into stifled giggles.

“I wonder which will figure it out first,” Eugene mused as they made their way out of the runners’ dorm.

“And _I_ wonder when _you_ became such a gossipy old lady,” Jack joked with a gentle shoulder shove.

“Hey, hey, I’m just doing my duty as a journalist here,” Eugene protested with mock indignation. “The social dynamics of our runners—and radio operators, I guess—are an important thing to keep an eye on.”

Jack rolled his eyes, and their good-natured banter followed Jack and Eugene out of the dorm, leaving the building in the comfortable quiet of sleeping runners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll also be posting this separately since I think it reads pretty well as a stand-alone. But it also may or may not be the beginnings of something I've heard about called plot...


End file.
